Pneumatic cleaning-machine.



M. s. WRIGHT. PNEUMATIC CLEANING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 17, 1909.

Patented Jan. 23, 1912 4 SHIBETS-SHEET l.

nvemboz I MM- I M. s. WRIGHT. PNEUMATIGYOLEANING MAGHINE. APPLIQATION FILED NOV. 17, 1909.

Patented Jan. 23, 1912.

4 SHEETEISHBBT 2.

M. s.= WRIGHT." PNEUMATIC CLEANING MAGHINE. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 17, 9 09.

1,015,372. Patented Jan.23,191 2.

4 8HEET3-SHEBT 3.

A SH M. SA-WRIGHT. PNEUMATIU CLEANING MAGEINB.

A PLIQA LTION FILED NOV. 17, 1909.

Patented Jan. 23,1912.

4 SHEBTS SHEET 4.

scription, which iforlfa clearund UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE MORRIS S. WRIGHT, OF WORCE STER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO M. S. WRIGHT COMPANY, OF W'ORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

PNEUMATIC CLEAN INGEMACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 23, 1912.

Application filed November 17, 1909. Serial No; 528,618.

Vlorcester, in the county of Worcester and v State of llilassac'husetts, have invented oer-- tain new and useful Improvements in Pneumatic Cleaning-Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being bad therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to pneumatic cleaning and. dust collecting apparatus, having particular reference to a machine of .the characterstated adapted for the gathering of dust or the-like from surfaces to be cleaned, through the medium of vacuum creating instru'nientalities.

It is the main object of mg machines,to the-gend that the same are rendered more compact, durable, ellicicnt in ()Llel'iltlOll, and cheapto manufacture.

More particularly the invention includes av wind-chest 'or vacuum -chamber" upon which is n iounted the operating or exhausting pneumatics or bellows and a dust receiving receptacle inthe wind-chest, with novel means of connection for, the various parts. Further, the. invention. includes means whereby the dust receivingreceptacle also"- constitutes means-for filtering thenh' con"- taining dust-forced into tlic'rcceptacley by' suetion, *together with means wherebydust receptacle i'nay be readily reniovedvfor I cleansing purposesand. to this end eontemplales a removable drawer for the wind chest and a removable dust receiving of filtering material positioned; in.- drawer, with ellieient 'm'eaiis for said parts in position. 6 I

The inyenli'on also includesa ,novel ty of valve ccmstruction, whereby the oper lion of the exhausting bellows 'isLrende more accurateand cllicienL-f.

Further the invention ncludes-aria llllilul' del ails of improved" construction an arrange-wilt of parts, to bemore part'iclfi larly pointed out herein'afterin; the d andi" of the inventionlsiioluld be read a hon with the accompany/mg' rewind, which form a par "hertuf andwhere n;

ration w h a per "'suchsurfac e. Means to be more 'larly-referred to hereinafter, is provided for creating-a vacuum in: the wind-chest A and holding in section, Fig. 2 a top plan View with parts in. section, Fig. 3 a vertical cross section, Fig. 4; a vertical longitudinal section, and Figs. '5 and 6 are detail views.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings wherein like reference numerals relate to corresponding numerals throughout the several figures of the drawings, a windchest or vacuum chamber is provided the same being designated as a whole by the reference character A and comprising abottom or base part1, a top part '2 preferably being co-extensive with the base, and sides 33" and back 4:. 'The said wind-chest is .open at its front and is adapted to be closed by the front wall of'a movable receptacle the invention toimprove upon the typemf pneumatic clean-.

in the form of a drawer 5, said wall 5 having portions which overlap the wall of the chest surrounding the opening in the front thereof. Positioned preferably centrally of the front wall 5 of the drawer is an open -which connects with a nozzle of any desired cons truction, the latter constituting no part of the present invention, but which is adapted as is usual to play over the surface to be cleaned and collect the dust and dirt from articudr he dust laden air through the 'on. To the end that the willbe properly filtered, e'd together for removal, rthe form of flex 5 5, with the open ntercpt the dust. 6 has extending irclat v yi yan interior e? fir y l f the front wall 5 ns. f is "provided, g mean'S, which in Ider to permit conveniently Ed-rigid arms 8 the bag and piv:

. es opp sired fan:

' r". to; hold said lag-from the the opening 5 in o i ion by the force of suction or otherwise and maintains a practically closed joint between the bagG and front wall 5 of the drawer.

Mounted upon the top wall 2 of the wind-chest is the vacuum creating means preferably comprising double acting ex-- hausting bellows or pneumatics and constructed as follows: and 10 are vertically extending relatively stationary back boards ner, preferably by thumb screws 11 for the bellows conveniently extending from front to back of the wind-chest and secured to the top wall thereof in any desired manprojecting through the top wall 2 of the windchest and operable from the interior of the wind-chest upon the removal of the drawer 5. 1-2 is a movable section of the bellows arranged intermediate of the stationaryv boards 10 and 10 and constituting a partition to make the bellows double acting. The movable partition 12- and the stationary boards 10 and 10 are connected by the folding webs or diaphragms 13 of-ordinary construction. On the top wall of tlie vindchest is provided a recessed member 14 adapted for the reception of a hinge block 15 the member 14 being secured conveniently by thumb screws 16 in the top of the windchest.

recesses and lugs adapted to register with the same parts in the lower end of the movable partition 12 and a pintle 17 passing through the interlocking portions of the hinge block and partition constitutes an efiicient pivot and one which is strong and .durable. Folds of leather or the like 18 are arranged on opposite sides of the movable partition 12 at the hinged end thereof to prevent leakage of the air at the hinged connection. The top wall of the wind-chest A is (provided with one or more openings 19 an 19" respectively on opposite sides of the movable partition 12. These openings establish communication between the in} terior of the wind-chest and the exhausting bellows and valves of any desired construction are p)- ided for opening and closing the openings on opposite sides of the par.- tition alternately. The construction of valves shown comprise members 20 h nged at one side 20 to the top surface of the wind-chest and arranged to automatically swing about the pivotal connection to open or close communication between the windchest and exhausting bellows according to The hinge block is provided with;

' closed position.

the operation of thefilatter. Each of the construction of flap valve to be now described. It has been customary to form valves for this purpose of leather or the like, but "it has been found in practice that the material could not be formed sufficiently thin to provide the necessary flexibility without being pervious to air. The present construction of valve is designed to overcome these difficulties and with this in view the body 22 of the valve is formed of flexible material conveniently leather, and adjacent each of the openings 21 is a relatively rigid or thickened material, which shall be termed for convenience reinforcing disks 23 which disks are secured in any desired manner as bv gluing to the outer surface of the body members 22. These reinforcing disks may be constructed of any desired material, as leather or rubber and with thebacking of the body ortion 22 of the valve will consti- =tute an e cient closure for the openings 21 and a closure impervious to the air. Again by arranging the reinforcing disks upon the outer surface of the body portion 22, the

body portion itself is not hardened but will remain sufliciently soft toprevent its impact upon. the back boards 10 and 10, hardly noticeable, thereby obviating any additional noise incident to the reinforcing feature. The body portions of the valves are secured at their upper ends in any convenient man ner as by tacks 24 to the outer surface of the stationary boards 10 and 10, and spring. members 25 secured respectivelyto the lower ends of the body of the valves and said stationary boards tend to hold the valves in closed or fiat position against the sides of said boards. The spring members areconveniently in the form of spirals projecting outwardly at an incline at the opposite sides of the valve body adjacent the lower end thereby tending to more firmly hold all portions of the valve flat when in Meansare provided for preventmg any unnecessary lateral play of the valves and guiding the same in their movement which means comprise guide members 26 secured to the outer surface of the boards 10 and 10 adjacent the lower ends of the valves and overlapping the same while permitting vertical movement of th lower ends of said valves.

A frame comprising upright side supports 27 and a connecting top member 28 is secured to the wind-chest in any desired manner the top member 28 having an elongated slot 29 therein for the reception and guidance of a projecting rod 30 secured in any desired manner to a cup shaped member 12 fitting i 60, the operator in a recess in the movable partition 12 and secured by a cap 12*. The projecting member 30 constitutes a handle or operating member to be engaged by the hand of the user for imparting reciprocating movement to the movable partition 12 about its pivotal connection, said movement being guided by the slot 29 in the guide member 28 and the ends of said slot constituting means for limiting the movement of, the operating handle in either direction. The handle as well as the parts 12 and 12 are preferably of metallic formation. Means is provided for extending the base 15 portion of the apparatus whereby the several parts are more firmly supported when the machine is in operation, the said means however being collapsible whereby the same will offer no substantial obstruction or protuberance when the machine is in use. This means, which is termed an extensible platformsection and may constitute a foot rest for the operator, comprises a substantially flat body 31 pivoted at its inner end by hinged members 32 to the'side 3 of the windchest in a manner to constitute a continuation of-the bottom 1 of the wind-chest when in lowered position and to rest upon the surface. Novel means is provided for maintraining the plat-form in lowered position and against movement, the same comprising bracket supports 33 secured to the windchest adjacent the top thereof and having projecting cars 34: for the reception of 35 angled extensions 35 of bracket arms 36. The said bracket arms are free to swing in the bearings formed by said cars 3st and when the platform is lowered for use lugs or projections 37 atvtlie outer ends of said arms engage apcrtu 'es 38 in "the sides of said platform. Th'lugs 37 may be formed by offsetting the free ends of the bracket arms 36. In order to hold said bracket arms in engagement with the apertures 38 in the platform a spring member is inserted between the angled extensions 35 and connected to the ends of each, the sald spring being designed to normally draw the arms toward one another. The locking recesses or apertures 38 are conveniently reinforced by apertured metallic plates 39.

. 2 The operation may be briefly described as follows: The extended base or platform having been lowered and the bracket arms havbeen swung down about their pivots the o s et free ends thereof are engaged with the locking apertures and the spring exerts inward pressure on the offset terminals to firmly lock the platformin position, when grasps the projecting handle 30 and moves the same back and forth about itspivot at the lower end thereof. This reciprocating movement of the movable partition alternately collapses the respective bellows. When one of the bellows is collapsed the valves 22 will be forced outp wardly from engagement with the boards 10 i and 10 against the action of the springs 25 thereby uncovering the opening 21 for the emissionof air and when a bellows is expanded it draws air through the valve 0 Jenings 20, the reverse operations taking p ace at the same time in the other bellows as is apparent. The vacuum created in the windchest by. the exhausting bellows draws into the chest the dust laden air the air being" filtered by passing through the dust receptacle or bag 6 and the dust lodging in said bag for collection. When it is desired to remove the bag for the purpose of emptying 30 the same or for gaining access into the'interior of the chest the drawer is drawn out; \vardly, the locking arms 8 are swung up Wardly about their pivots thereby releasing the bag from holding engagement with the 35 drawer, when the bag may be removed and emptied or cleaned. It is obvious of'course that new bags may be substituted from time to time as occasion demands.

The 'drawcr is held in closed position v preferably by the following means: An elongated slot or recess is provided. in the sides of the wind-chest adjacent the front thereof as shown at :ll the said recess being adapted to register with a similar recess 42 in the sides of the front wall of the drawer.

43 are spring members secured at one end 43 to the sides of the chest, each said spring members being adapted tonormally rest in the recesses 41 and connected at their opposite ends to pintlcs lat adapted to fit in the recesses 42 of the front wall of the drawer, the pintles having a flange to overlap the wall of the recesses 42 and terminating in an o 'ierating knob 54. lt is noted that when the drawer is closed the locking piiitles ll are bodily and freely movable into position to engage with the recesses in the drawer, the tension of the spring being to exert inward pressure on the pintles thereby holding the front wall of the drawer snugly against a suitable packing 46 interposed between said front wall of the drawer and the edges of the wind-chest. Should it be nec cssary to gain access to the interior of the exhausting bellows or the valves 20, it is only necessary to remove the drawer 5 and its bag, when the operator can readily remove the thumb screws ll'and. 16 thereby releasing the connection between the exhausters and the vacuum chamber or'windchest. \Vhcn released, the exhausters may be removed for the purpose of replacing, cleansing or repairing of parts.

It will be appreciated that the front wall 5 of the drawer also constitutes a closure for the vacuum chamber A, which closure has a dust inlet aperture or opening. Still another very important clnu'acteristic of the front wall 5* resides in the fact that the same also constitutes a closure for the open mouth of the bag maintained by the collar or frame 7. This construction is of especial advantage in connection With the removal of the dust from the filtering bag. When in position the arms 8 which engage the collar orframe 7 at the open endof the bag lock the bag in position so that the bag constitutes in effect a connected part of the front wall 5. This locking engagement is maintained when the drawer is removed from which it will be seen that the bag will be closed by the front wall 5 of the drawer-and may be transported to even a remote place of depositwithout any likelihood of dropping the dust. Subsequently the bars 8 are released when the bag may be removed and the open mouth of the same maintained by the collar 7 permits the dust to readily fall out.

I claim:

1. In a dust collector, the combination with a casing, having a dust collecting chamber therein formed with a side opening, means for exhausting the air from the chamber, a filtering dust receiving receptacle located within the chamber and having an unrestricted mouth or open end, a frame for the said open end, a removable Wall member for the chamber constituting a closure for the same and for the dust receptacle mouth, and having a relatively small inlet opening communicating with the interior of the receptacle, means for removably connecting the wall to the casing, and means for removably connecting the said receptacle frame to the said wall.

2. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a casing having an open side, a bag within the casing having an open mouth at said open side-0f the easing, a wall for closing said side having an inlet port, means for press 'ig the Wall against the casing, and mea 15 for pressing the bag in an opposite direction against said wall so as to constitute a releasable but closed joint between the wall and chamber and between the wall and bag.

3. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a filtering receiving bag having an open mouth, a wall for closing said opening having an inlet port, a frame for the mouth of the bag, and means for removably holding the bag on said Wall comprising a-piv'oted arm carried by the-wall and adapted to engage said frame.

4. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a casing'having an opening, a removable Wall for said opening, said wall having an opening and a projection within the casing, a filtering receiving bag, a relatively rigic frame for the mouth of the bag, and movable means mounted on said projection of the Wall for connecting said frame of the bag to said wall. a

5. In a device of the character described,

a casing having an opening, a dust receiving receptacle adapted to be inserted through said opening, a frame for the mouth of the receptacle, a removable closure forothe opening having a dust inlet, and movable means Within the casing for forcing the frame into air tight engagement with the closure. j

6. In a device of the character described,

a dust receiving chamber having an opening, a removable flexible dust receiving filtering receiver in the receptacle, a dust inlet member forming the closure for the opening, means for detachably securing the closure to the chamber, andindependent movable means for detachably connecting the closure and receptacle. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a casing having a chamber, the casing having an opening in its side, a removable Wall for said open side of the casing, said- Wall having an inlet opening, a filtering dust receiving recep-' tacle Within the chamber, the receptacle having an open mouth, a relatively rigid frame surrounding said open mouth, and

means within the receptacle for holding the frame of the begin substantially air tightengagement with the removable Wall of the casing.

In testimony whereof I affixmy signature in presence of two witnesses.

MORRIS S. WRIGHT.

\Vitnesses HENRY P. MURRAY, B. F. SAWYER. 

